News

NEW YORK (December 21, 2009) -- Goaltender Cristobal Huet of the Chicago Blackhawks, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins and right wing Patric Hornqvist of the Nashville Predators have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Dec. 20.

Huet stopped all 47 shots he faced in a pair of shutout victories, helping the Blackhawks (23-8-3) climb to first place in the Western Conference. He made 27 saves in a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues Dec. 16 and stopped 20 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Dec. 20. Huet, who has won 11 of his past 15 decisions, improved to 16-7-2 with a 2.01 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts. He is working on an active shutout streak of 141:21, slightly more than 32 minutes shy of his career high of 173:30 set with the Montreal Canadiens in February 2006.

SECOND STAR -- MARC-ANDRE FLEURY, G, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Fleury won all three starts, posting a 1.26 goals-against average and .957 save percentage, as the Penguins (25-10-1) completed the week tied in points with the New Jersey Devils atop the NHL overall standings. Fleury recorded 26 saves in a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Dec. 15 and turned aside 31 of 33 shots and both shootout attempts in a 3-2 win over the Flyers Dec. 17, completing the Penguins' first home-and-home sweep over their cross-state rivals in 17 years. He completed the week by stopping 31 shots and all three shootout attempts in a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Dec. 19. Fleury has posted a 21-8-1 record with a 2.31 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 30 appearances this season and is 4-0 in shootouts, stopping 12 of 13 attempts.

THIRD STAR -- PATRIC HORNQVIST, RW, NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Hornqvist led all scorers last week with seven points (four goals, three assists), helping the Predators (22-11-3) win four consecutive games and rise to sixth place in the League's overall standings. Hornqvist recorded points in all four games, beginning with one goal in a 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Dec. 14 and two points (one goal, one assist) in a 7-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Dec. 15. He posted his second two-goal, three-point game of the season, highlighted by his fourth game-winning goal, in a 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers Dec. 17, and finished the week with one assist in a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames Dec. 19. Hornqvist was the final player selected, 230th overall, in the 2005 Entry Draft. He ranks sixth on the Predators in scoring with 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 35 games.